3 Answers

Sorry guy this is a custom Apple part. So far OWC is the only one making them other than Apple's OEM's who so far can't offer them to the general public.

This is also a newer version of PCIe SSD unlike the older models that used a two lane (x2) PCIe SSD this system uses a four lane (x4) PCIe SSD. So you might find going with the older SSD a bit cheaper. But even then they are hard to find used in the bigger sizes.

How about getting an external Thunderbolt or USB drive to hold your loose files and leave the internal drive just for the basics Apps & free space for virtual RAM and Application Paging. Here's one USB drive: Samsung T3 external SSD drives. There are others as well.

so ive been looking on ebay and ive come accross 512GB ssds that say they will work specifically for the early 2015 macbook 13 inch....the problem is that they are made in china and im not sure how well they will perform..they are also very cheap! take a look here and tell me what you think!

The problem with the eBay adapter+SSDs in late 2013+ Apple laptops (unlike the earlier 2012-2013 MBPRs and MBAs) is that they're advertised as non-bootable. Presumably, this is because of the special firmware Apple's installed on the SSDs. If an internal SSD isn't bootable, it's pointless to install it; you're better off using it in an enclosure, or getting an Apple-compatible drive. There are a number of Chinese knockoff enclosures for both Apple's 2013+ PCIe cards and the 2012-2013 SATA III cards. The knockoff adapters for the 2012-early 2013 MBPR and MBA are (allegedly) compatible with Apple systems; in theory, you can use a standard m.2 SATA III card with the pass-through adapter as a boot drive in those older laptops.

Well you are sorta right here... Apple does not make the discreet parts and in some cases the assembly like the SSD drive.

But, they do control the specs of the device and may get the manufacture to alter their design to meet Apples requirements.

In this case the retina series SSD's are a custom design. And yes, Apple has contracted with different vendors for their parts like SanDisk. The newer models use Samsung drives, and Samsung so far is the only source of the faster four lane PCIe VME drives.